Once Upon A Forced BabySitting Job
by XxLemurxX
Summary: Sometimes the most boring daily activities can lead to the most exciting things. Babysitting, and letter writing...and maybe, just maybe falling in love? Ginny hopes so.


_**Author's Note: I actually wrote this story some time ago, but found it again recently and decided to heavily rewrite it and finish it. Probably two or three chapters left after this one. Hope you guys like it, as always read and review por favor.**_

_**At Hermione's**_

"I don't understand how you do it Hermione. You really are wonder woman, you know that?" I said with the smallest hint of laughter in my voice.

There we were in Hermione's kitchen that she shared with that brother of mine. Looking back on it I don't know how I didn't see this coming. I should have always known that one day I'd be sitting in a kitchen talking up a storm with Hermione—my sister in law. That comment about Hermione being super woman wasn't really very far from the truth. Not only did she have an enormous work load being a junior assistant to the Minister, and well on her way up the ranks of the Ministry; she also had two young red headed children to take care of. She seemed to take on everything with ease, surprisingly. I'm lucky if I'm even able to do my own laundry without accidently flooding my humble flat.

"Honestly, it's not that hard Ginny... Arthur James Weasley, if you don't give that back to your brother this instant, there's going to be a lot of sitting in the corner for you young man." Hermione without a stitch of irritation in her voice as she took a sip from the steaming mug of tea sitting on the table before us. The eldest of the two (by approximately three minutes) aforementioned red headed twins playing in the corner handed a small children's quaffle back to his brother with a frightened look glossing his childish features.

"I'm not sure I would be up for the task..." I said honestly, I'm not sure I'd ever want children of my own. Most of the time I just want those damn buggers to shut the hell up. Although they can be quite adorable, with their snotty little noses and unruly hair. Oh, I'm sorry did I say adorable? I meant disgusting.

"Well that's too bad Ginny, because actually I was wondering if I could ask a little favor of you this afternoon actually." Hermione said looking quite hopeful indeed.

"Oh, and what prey tell does that involve?" I asked having a feeling I knew exactly what was in store for me. You have no idea how many times I've been hit up for babysitting. At first the children are perfectly innocent, and then Ron and Hermione leave. Suddenly I'm left with Brittan's two most wanted. Six hours later there I am: covered in sweat, vomit, and something that vaguely resembles banana fritters; Ron and Hermione come home and Ron rudely asks me to leave. It's a vicious cycle that I put myself through at least twice a month. What can I say? I don't learn from my mistakes.

"I was just wondering if I could persuade you to watch the children for an hour or two, while I get some shopping done for their birthdays. You do know that they turn four next week, don't you?" Hermione asks sternly as she well knows that of course I have forgotten, and more than likely I will end up wrapping one of Fred and George's child unfriendly inventions for them at the very last moment in a rush to not piss of Hermione.

"Oh, must I?" I sigh with fake exasperation, I know I'm going to end up saying "yes". I always say yes.

"Do you really want to see my reaction if you say no?" Hermione asks as she begins to slam her mug of tea back onto the oak table.

"No, that will be just fine. Don't worry about it Hermione, I can do it." I say as I grab her hand seconds before the mug would have made contact with the shiny wooden surface.

"Oh, really Ginny? That's so great!" Hermione said as she began to get out of her chair.

"Yeah, yeah. Just remember all of these little baby sitting jobs I do for you come my birthday, okay?" I say being completely serious. I want a new broom badly.

"You know Ginny, you're completely right, I don't show you enough gratitude for all you help us out with." She says as she runs a hand through her unruly mane trying to tame it before it faces the harsh winds of the outside world.

"I know I'm right. I'm always right." I say, with a look of pure delight.

"I'm going to make that all up to you right now." She says as she walks to the back door, besides which on the wall hangs her purse. She takes it down from the small silver hook, opens it up and takes out a spare piece of parchment and a quill. She puts her purse back on the hook, and places the parchment against the wall, and begins to write, the way that all people write when they're in a hurry and can't find a flat horizontal surface.

She begins to dictate:

"Send to the recipient mentioned below in exactly two and a half hours time from the current writing date, message as follows:

Thanks for the babysitting. Nice try on getting a better birthday present.

From: Hermione Granger

To: Ginny Weasley"

She taps it twice with her wand, and the parchment quickly disappears.

"What the bloody hell did you just do? And what's that about me not deserving a better birthday gift?" I inquire wildly.

"Well, it's a new Owl system that the Ministry has just started actually. It's kind of under development, but I've been using it to send myself memos in the future, to remind myself of

important things such as when to buy tampons. Or for example I can send you a thank you letter in advance, and you'll receive it when I want you to. It makes things much easier, don't you think?" Hermione says all on one breath.

"So, I can send people letters in the present and they'll get them whenever I decide they can have them?" I ask curiously, this could actually have some use to me.

"In fewer words: yes." Hermione says as she grabs her bag for real this time, and begins to walk out the door

"Wicked." I proclaim, I could have fun with that little Owl improvement.

"Yes, it is very useful I suppose. Well, I'm off. Oh, and Ginny? Do remember not to let Jeffery vomit on you again, won't you?" Hermione says ass he makes her way out the door.

"Vile woman..." I whisper as the door closes. As soon as the door makes contact with the frame, Arthur Junior starts yelling shrilly.

"Arthur honestly, could you please be the good child for once in your life?" I answer to his yells, huffily. He takes one look at me, and then stops screaming and turns back to his brother to begin squabbling with him.

My mind drifts back to the "note from the future" spell that Hermione just used on me. At least I have something to waste my time on while I'm watching the twins today. I walk to one of the small wooden kitchen drawers nestled beneath the kitchen counters, open one and pull out several spare pieces of parchment, and an ever-inking quill. As I make my way back to the table I begin to think of who I can first try this little experiment on. I sit down, and begin to write:

"Send to the recipient mentioned below in exactly three hours time from current writing date, message as follows:

Your note of gratitude has gone much unappreciated. Thanks for the unwanted sentiment, however. Also consider this; bad birthday present means no more free babysitting. Consider yourself warned.

From: Ginny Weasley

To: Hermione Granger

After a quick reread, and acknowledging a job well done, I tap the letter twice with my wand, and off it goes to wherever letters to the future go. I'm not exactly sure where that is, actually. That was actually quite amusing. Let's try another, shall we?

As I begin to put my quill down on the second piece of parchment, an idea suddenly hits me like a raging hippogriff. The letter I should be writing. The letter that would finally put all of my stupid feelings out in the open so that...they'd be out in the open. I am sounding rather redundant aren't I? I put quill to parchment as I begin to write exactly what I should.

"Sent to the recipient mentioned below in exactly six months time from current writing date, message as follows:

Hullo Harry! How are you? Well, enough with the formalities I'm just going to come right out and say it. Harry James Potter, I am in love with you. Shocking I know, I guess you've always known. But there it is I guess. And I realize that we're friends now, and I love that. And I realize that you've been dating other girls on a regular basis for a while now...but I'm telling you I'm the one you need. I'm the one that knows you forwards and backwards. I really do, and it scares me to tell you that without even the slightest hope that you might feel the same way I am head over feet in love with you. And I can't control it, and I can't stop it. It's just the way I feel, so I'm telling you now so that years, and years from now when we're old and gray and you're married with fifteen children and I live by myself with a herd of cats, I won't be able to regret not saying it. I'm writing this letter to you from the past, so that you'll receive it in the future because I can't bring myself to tell you now. Hopefully you'll read it and realize that you feel the same way. More than likely you'll laugh half heartedly at it and then immediately make a call to St. Mungos to have me taken away, for I am more than likely a threat to society and myself. Oh well, either way I think you should know that I love you.

From: Ginny Weasley..."

I hesitate for a moment before I sign his name. Is this a good idea? Is this too much? I finally come to my senses and quickly pick the quill up once again before I lose my nerve, and begin to write again.

"To: Harry Potter"

As soon as the quill leaves the parchment, I close my eyes tightly and tap it softly with my wand two times in quick succession. The paper quickly disappears sending all of my hopes, my fears, and my love into the future. The twins begin to yell again loudly in the background. I guess it's back to the babysitting grind for me.

_**The Next Morning at Ginny's Flat**_

After approximately three hundred hours of babysitting two of the world's future biggest prats, I finally went home. And smelling like a combination of cat pee and crayons, I collapsed into bed without another thought until the next morning. And as I awoke, the horrible events of the day before befell me once again. And then I remembered the letter. That motherfucking letter, what the hell was I thinking?

What in the bloody hell _was_ I thinking? Why would I try to ruin the perfect fragility that is Harry and my friendship? Why would I want to go muck that up by telling him that I love him? Now, I have six months to either tell him myself by making him fall head over heels in love with me, or suffer the consequences as he discovers it on in his own in the form of my letter that I sent yesterday that he won't receive until six months from now. I have royally screwed myself. I am always doing things like this, you know you really shouldn't let me make life altering decisions because I always find a way to mess them all up. I'm just like that I guess.

But anyways, I digress I have six months to make Harry realize that he is madly in love with me. Or alternatively I could just wait the six months out and hope that he's in a quidditch related coma when the letter comes, and he won't be able to read it. Or I could follow him around for six months straight and at the precise moment that the letter arrives, I'll flash him, or jinx him, or really anything possible to distract him long enough so that I can take the letter so that he can't ever, ever see it.

But in reality is any of that really logical? I doubt it. I guess the only thing that I can do is to try my absolute hardest to MAKE the git fall in love with me. I'll use force if necessary. Oy, the bloody things I'll do for love.


End file.
